1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an agricultural feed bagging machine and more particularly to an agricultural feed bagging machine having a grader edge located at the rearward end of the tunnel so that a smooth filled bag is achieved.
2. Background Information
Agricultural feed bagging machines have been employed for several years to bag or pack silage or the like into elongated plastic bags. Two of the earliest bagging machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,061 and 4,046,068. In most prior art bagging machines, silage or the like is supplied to the forward or intake end of the bagging machine and is fed to a rotor which conveys the silage into a tunnel on which the bag is positioned so that the bag is filled. In most prior art bagging machines, the rotor is located at the lower end of a hopper.
All bagging machines over the past several years have had one undesirable trait in common. Legume feedstuffs (e.g., alfalfa, clover and grasses), especially when they are cut longer than four inches and are relatively dry, produce a very lumpy bag. A lumpy bag results in several disadvantages. Due to the lumpy bag, there is less material in the bag since there is a poor utilization of space. Further, a lumpy bag results in excessive air being left in the bag which interferes with fermentation activity within the bag thereby resulting in a less than desirable quality of feed. Further, lumps or bulges in the filled bags greatly increase the chances of having the bag fail or rupture due to bulge point pressure.